365: Looking Out Over the Pride Land

Duke likes to pretend he's the Lion King. He'll sit at the top step of the deck for hours on end just watching the world go by. And by world go by I mean nothing happening. Because duh, we live at the bottom of the canyon. Maybe he sees a bird fly by every once in a while. Maybe he's reflecting back over his life. Who knows? All I know is he loves it and he sure looks cute doing it!

365: Rock On Old Man

Duke doesn't really like to play with dog toys. But he does love some rocks. We went on a walk this morning and he found this rock about a 1/4 of a mile from the house. He scooped it up and decided he didn't want either of us getting it so he ran ahead about 50 yards and kept looking back to make sure we were still coming but not close enough that his rock was in danger. When we finally got back to the house he ran out of places to go and I could finally snap his picture. He tried to sneak it in the house but got in trouble; he knows the rules, no rocks in the house!

365: Silly Boy

This is our Dukey boy. Dukey only likes to eat his from a laying down position. He has bad hips so I think it hurts for him to bend over to eat. In the top picture you'll note two standing feeders that we got so that he could eating from a standing position. He basically told us to take a leap off a bridge because he refuses to eat from them. So instead squatty little Sam eats from them. Because he's weird too.

When Duke is done eating he likes to pass out on the floor next to his bowl. Never know when you might get hungry again and will need quick access to food!

I also like that Duke appears to be sticking his tongue out at me in the top picture. He knew I was going to rat him out on my blog!

365: Beef flavored or barf flavored?

Duke's new pain medicine, Rimadyl, comes in a "beef flavored" chewable tablet. However if it tastes like it smells I'm gonna guess it's closer to "barf flavor." YUCK! If dogs could talk...

365: Dorky Dog Eyes

Until we moved into Camp Awesome, I never realized how differently dogs see from humans. Specifically, how wacky their depth perception is and how hard it is for them to figure things out sometimes. One of those times is when I try and call for Duke when he's on the upper driveway. When I come out the door and he's standing anywhere except the end of the deck he gets so confused as to how to get to me. I have to physically walk to the end of the deck so he can see how to walk a basically 90 degree angle to come in. We do this at least once a day. You'd think he'd figure it out. Especially since if left alone he eventually comes and stands at the backdoor. Nerds.

365: Mr. Svelte

Duke came into the living room when we were getting ready to go outside. Ange looks at him and says in a fake phoney baloney accent "HELLO MY SVELTE GERMAN FRIEND! GOOD TO SEE YOU THIS EVENING!" I almost fell off the couch laughing. She is such a weirdo. I picked a good one :)

365: Gentle Giant

 

See the scary looking dog up there? Total ruse. Duke's really a weenie. Ever met a dog who was terrified of a fly? Yes, I mean the little annoying flying bug. Yep, big tough guy is petrified of flies. If one is in the house he runs and hides. He's also scared of vacuum cleaners, grills, fire in general, any loud noises...and the list goes on.

In an effort to bolster Duke's self-esteem from being such a wimp sometimes we like to play "Police Dog." Nevermind that he'd actually be a terrible police dog, he really likes this game.

Here's how you play:

1. Wait until he's feeling feisty. If he's feel little and lovey he doesn't like to play police dog.
2. Yell "POLICE DOG! RAWR!!!"
3. Push your forearm into his mouth and wiggle it like you are struggling with him. It's helpful if you wear long sleeves as his mouth is very slobbery and he doesn't really like to use his teeth.
4. Repeat 3-4 times. After that he gets tired of the game and just wants to get to the part where you pat his big head and tell him what a big scary dog he is.

Before anyone tells me that I'm teaching him bad skills, don't worry. First, we've been playing this game for about 7 years and he's never bitten me or anyone else in this period of time. Secondly, he barely even grazes me with his teeth. He mostly mouths me with his lips and tongue. Finally, only Ange and I are allowed to play this game with him, and she only recently started. So no worries, he isn't going to chomp you if you come visit. He'll just want pats on the head. And for you to protect him from flies.

Dog Dossier: Duke

Aliases: Dukey, Duker, Big Boy, Gray Dog, Grumpy, Old Man, Handsome Boy, Pig Nose

Back Story: Duke is the first of the 2 brothers I adopted when my ex abandoned her dogs and left them with me. He actually came to live with me first, a few months before his brother. See, I don't know much about Duke's first 6 years in the world but I do know that he got hit by a car and beaten by my ex's ex so bad that he couldn't walk for a few days and now that he is older had been suffering from some pretty bad hip problems. He's used to be in pain every once and a while but now that he's approaching 12 he is in daily pain. The vet thinks it's some pretty heavy duty arthritis and he's on a daily NSAID to help manage pain. Understandably Duke is very, very sensitive about his hind quarters and doesn't like anyone getting near them, much less touching them.

Shortly after I moved into my house, but before my ex had moved in, she was living in a duplex with one of her friends in one half and her friend's sister who had like 5 kids. They had a big backyard and because of the plethora of kids her friend's sister had there were always a crap ton of neighborhood kids around. Well apparently there was one little girl who just loved to bother Duke. She wasn't necessarily mean, but she was always touching, poking, messing with him, even after repeated warnings to just leave him alone. Well one day, no one is quite sure what happened, they heard a scream in the backyard and came out and realized that Duke had snapped at the little girl and caught her just hard enough to break the skin on her butt. She ended up getting 2 stiches, and the parent's weren't really mad but my ex thought it would be a good idea to get him out of the situation. We were already moving in the direction of probably moving in together so she asked if Duke could come live with me and Daisy. I loved Duke already and knew that he'd just been given a raw deal in life so I said yes. He's never bitten anyone before this incident and never has since living with me. I think that the kid just messed with him too many times and he was over it. But also, being a good dog owner, I have never left Duke alone with a small child (or any visitor really) because I want to make sure that both his and any potential child's safety and security are assured.

So my ex came and went and decided that when she left she couldn't take her dogs. Which frankly, was fine by me. They had already been living with me for 4 years and I knew that she could barely take care of herself much less these two dogs. They'd been through enough in their lives and I knew that my house was home to them and that they had a big backyard that they could roam around and lots of dog beds inside to rest their big bodies and I knew that I would have a much better capacity to care for their needs (vet wise as well as TLC) as their ages progressed and their health waned.

Although Duke has a rough exterior...he tends to growl and gripe a lot...it's just a front. He's actually one of the most sensitive and loving dogs I've ever met. He hates when people yell, he gets upset very easily, he's actually scared of just about everything, and he just wants to snuggle in bed with you and be babied. He'll always be my grumpy little boy that I just love to pieces!


Likes: To be left alone, to be brushed, treats, sleeping on dog beds, sleeping on mommy's bed when she isn't looking, barking loud in people's faces

Dislikes: Flies, grills, vacuums, most other dogs, strangers, cats, birds, having anyone in his personal space, being touched anywhere near his hind quarters, leaving the house, baths, being wet in general, when people yell, when someone looks like they are going to hurt me